《Family Bonding with Universities》.pdfVIP

Family Bonding with Universities by Jonathan Meer, Stanford University Harvey S. Rosen, Princeton University CEPS Working Paper No. 187 June 2009 Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Donna Lawrence, Brian McDonald, Ashley Miller, and Julie Shadle for useful suggestions. This research was supported by Princeton’s Center for Economic Policy Studies. ABSTRACT Family Bonding with Universities One justification offered for legacy admissions policies at universities is that that they bind entire families to the university. Proponents maintain that these policies have a number of benefits, including increased donations from members of these families. We use a rich set of data from an anonymous selective research institution to investigate which types of family members have the most important effect upon donative behavior. We find that the effects of attendance by members of the younger generation (children, children-in-law, nieces and nephews) are greater than the effects of attendance by older generations (parents, parents-in-law, aunts and uncles). Previous research has indicated that, in a variety of contexts, men and women differ in their altruistic behavior. However, we find that there are no statistically discernible differences between men and women in the way their donations depends on the alumni status of various types of relatives. Neither does the gender of the various types of relatives who attended the uni- versity seem to matter. Thus, for example, the impact of having a son attend the university is no different from the effect of a daughter. Jonathan Meer